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大奥 [Ōoku] #10
Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 10
Aonuma and his disciples in Holland studies are closer than ever to finding a way to prevent the spread of the Redface Pox. But even as they work ceaselessly for salvation for their country, shadowy political machinations threaten their endeavors….and their lives!
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2013
7 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Fumi Yoshinaga
157 books248 followersJapanese: よしなが ふみ
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 15, 2016
This is the best manga series I've ever read. I know, I know, I know that's not much coming from a manga novice but seriously, this series is so good I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when its over.
In an alternate universe in Edo era Japan thousands of men die from a horrible illness known as "The Red Face Pox." Entire generations are decimated in a matter months and women, who remain entirely unaffected, take on the roles men leave behind including that of Shogun. The series concerns the goings on in the Ooku or harem of the Shogun where an ever changing bevy of young men must live out their lives behind its walls.
The series begins with the outbreak of the epidemic and travels through the years and reigns of different shoguns. Its a perfect combination of political intrigue and epic love story.
Fumi Yoshinaga is an amazing artist, you just want to stare at each panel for hours to drink in all the little details. Her real strength lies in her ability to convey heated emotion. The stories are rife with tragedy and star crossed love so there's plenty of passionate embracing and tears but Yoshinaga somehow manages to always steer clear of straight up melodrama.
Volume 10 finishes the story of the Dutch trained doctor Aonuma and his disciples who are very close to coming up with a treatment and vaccine for the pox. They have the support of the current Shogun but, powerful figures behind the scenes are actively working to end both her reign and any hope of stopping the pox.
Yoshinaga tackles a different kind of love in this particular volume. While we don't have the romantic drama between the Shogun and one of the samurai we do get a wonderful sense of the bond between Aonuma, who himself is an outsider with a Dutch father and Japanese mother, and his students who had no other purpose than to please the Shogun before he arrived. There's also a lot more emphasis on female identity with the continuing story of Gennai, who if I'm reading this correctly is actually a transgender character who lives as a man. In exploring Gennai's early life and relationships with the various women admirers he basically has on retainer Yoshinaga makes some very interesting points about what femininity actually is versus what being a woman is.
You really do need to start from the beginning to get the full impact of this story. Its very much a slow build as you move from the early days of the illness to a time when a world where women control everything is just how its always been. The focus changes too as both sexes in this society become much more comfortable with their new roles and the emphasis is put on maintaining the status quo versus curing the disease.
This series is a terrific starting point if you're largely unfamiliar with manga but I warn you that it sets the bar impossibly high.
In an alternate universe in Edo era Japan thousands of men die from a horrible illness known as "The Red Face Pox." Entire generations are decimated in a matter months and women, who remain entirely unaffected, take on the roles men leave behind including that of Shogun. The series concerns the goings on in the Ooku or harem of the Shogun where an ever changing bevy of young men must live out their lives behind its walls.
The series begins with the outbreak of the epidemic and travels through the years and reigns of different shoguns. Its a perfect combination of political intrigue and epic love story.
Fumi Yoshinaga is an amazing artist, you just want to stare at each panel for hours to drink in all the little details. Her real strength lies in her ability to convey heated emotion. The stories are rife with tragedy and star crossed love so there's plenty of passionate embracing and tears but Yoshinaga somehow manages to always steer clear of straight up melodrama.
Volume 10 finishes the story of the Dutch trained doctor Aonuma and his disciples who are very close to coming up with a treatment and vaccine for the pox. They have the support of the current Shogun but, powerful figures behind the scenes are actively working to end both her reign and any hope of stopping the pox.
Yoshinaga tackles a different kind of love in this particular volume. While we don't have the romantic drama between the Shogun and one of the samurai we do get a wonderful sense of the bond between Aonuma, who himself is an outsider with a Dutch father and Japanese mother, and his students who had no other purpose than to please the Shogun before he arrived. There's also a lot more emphasis on female identity with the continuing story of Gennai, who if I'm reading this correctly is actually a transgender character who lives as a man. In exploring Gennai's early life and relationships with the various women admirers he basically has on retainer Yoshinaga makes some very interesting points about what femininity actually is versus what being a woman is.
You really do need to start from the beginning to get the full impact of this story. Its very much a slow build as you move from the early days of the illness to a time when a world where women control everything is just how its always been. The focus changes too as both sexes in this society become much more comfortable with their new roles and the emphasis is put on maintaining the status quo versus curing the disease.
This series is a terrific starting point if you're largely unfamiliar with manga but I warn you that it sets the bar impossibly high.
March 16, 2015
Wow, this is really good. This is not a kid manga, as it is complex and rich and insightful about history, gender, sexuality, and politics. And what it means to be human. It asks, among other things, what would Japan have been like if a plague, like small pox, kills almost all the men and women came into power. And Yoshinaga's answers as it turns out are clever and complex. This is in the Edo period. Harems existed then for the aristocracy, and they still do in this alternative history, only now with men, of course, etc etc. And what is it just a few men will be asked to do, in society, with women in power? Reduced largely to ceremonial and procreative functions, what becomes of their identities?
This particular volume I almost thought was the finish, as many dramatic arcs would seem to be completed, and we circle back to themes from the early volumes. But a lot of powerful historical and individual dramas ensue that you come to care about. One thing: a (mere) man seems to rise up that has scientific capabilities and who helps to develop a vaccine for the pox! How could this happen?! From a man?! And what does it mean fort these women in power to hold back men, given they are also the mothers sometimes of sons who are men?! You get the point. But it's so well done!
I understand more is to come, so I will read. But when it is all done I will want to read it all the way through. It is hard waiting for months and you forget the characters and plot threads… like Game of Thrones or things like that. But it is worth the wait with this one. You may tend to think that all manga is for kids, but this series begins to get at what manga can accomplish. And artistically, it is just terrific. If you know nothing about manga, you will almost not believe this series exists or how good comics can be. Highly recommend.
This particular volume I almost thought was the finish, as many dramatic arcs would seem to be completed, and we circle back to themes from the early volumes. But a lot of powerful historical and individual dramas ensue that you come to care about. One thing: a (mere) man seems to rise up that has scientific capabilities and who helps to develop a vaccine for the pox! How could this happen?! From a man?! And what does it mean fort these women in power to hold back men, given they are also the mothers sometimes of sons who are men?! You get the point. But it's so well done!
I understand more is to come, so I will read. But when it is all done I will want to read it all the way through. It is hard waiting for months and you forget the characters and plot threads… like Game of Thrones or things like that. But it is worth the wait with this one. You may tend to think that all manga is for kids, but this series begins to get at what manga can accomplish. And artistically, it is just terrific. If you know nothing about manga, you will almost not believe this series exists or how good comics can be. Highly recommend.
April 9, 2016
The second to last volume of this magnificent manga series made me so dang angry and oh so sad. If you are a fan of happily-ever-after stories, or stories in which life is fair, look elsewhere.
What is it about human nature that always, and I mean always, looks for a scapegoat when things do not go well? When beset by famine or earthquakes do people think, oh well that is just nature being nature? Clearly not. The gods must be displeased with something, and miraculously there is always a person or groups of people clearly responsible. Sigh.
Several plot lines reach their logical, if undesirable conclusions, and I literally could not put this book down until I was done. Powerful women are no longer a new concept, but the fact that there are men who actually think about something other than power makes for a refreshing change. Who knew that men had brains? (Smile). There are always early adopters and laggards to any new technology and change, and that is true in the Inner Chambers as well. And that ending? Holy moly!
What is it about human nature that always, and I mean always, looks for a scapegoat when things do not go well? When beset by famine or earthquakes do people think, oh well that is just nature being nature? Clearly not. The gods must be displeased with something, and miraculously there is always a person or groups of people clearly responsible. Sigh.
Several plot lines reach their logical, if undesirable conclusions, and I literally could not put this book down until I was done. Powerful women are no longer a new concept, but the fact that there are men who actually think about something other than power makes for a refreshing change. Who knew that men had brains? (Smile). There are always early adopters and laggards to any new technology and change, and that is true in the Inner Chambers as well. And that ending? Holy moly!
February 9, 2021
Je n'avais pas touché à cette série depuis un long moment donc j'ai été vraiment ravi de voir une présentation des personnages au début du volume.
De nouveau, il se passe beaucoup de chose en même temps: alors que le Shogunat doit composer avec des crises majeures: inondations, tremblements de terre et famines qui suit évidemment les deux, le pavillon des hommes éduque une partie de ses pensionnaires à la médecine hollandaise et en peu de temps, en lisant des récits européens, ils découvrent un procédé plutôt efficace de vaccination en se servant des injections de postules de gens infectés de manières bénignes. Tout fonctionne à la perfection et on semble se diriger vers une campagne de vaccination à la grandeur du pays jusqu'à ce que l'héritier d'une famille meurt de la vaccination, incident qui été un peu attendu par les chercheurs, mais pas frappant une personne d'une telle influence.
Alors, en même temps que les structures de pouvoir du Shogunat change, la médecine hollandaise est désormais interdite et les étudiants de celle-ci sont bannis du pavillon. Après l'année qu'on a eu, c'est certainement assez révélateur de voir les progrès scientifiques, la lutte pour la vaccination, la diffusion de connaissance brimées ou ralenties par des politiques obscurantistes qui ne servent que l'intérêt des gens aux pouvoirs et qui conduisent à la mort de milliers (et plus) de personnes. Bref, on peut définitivement le classer, ce tome encore plus que les autres, comme lecture de pandémie.
De nouveau, il se passe beaucoup de chose en même temps: alors que le Shogunat doit composer avec des crises majeures: inondations, tremblements de terre et famines qui suit évidemment les deux, le pavillon des hommes éduque une partie de ses pensionnaires à la médecine hollandaise et en peu de temps, en lisant des récits européens, ils découvrent un procédé plutôt efficace de vaccination en se servant des injections de postules de gens infectés de manières bénignes. Tout fonctionne à la perfection et on semble se diriger vers une campagne de vaccination à la grandeur du pays jusqu'à ce que l'héritier d'une famille meurt de la vaccination, incident qui été un peu attendu par les chercheurs, mais pas frappant une personne d'une telle influence.
Alors, en même temps que les structures de pouvoir du Shogunat change, la médecine hollandaise est désormais interdite et les étudiants de celle-ci sont bannis du pavillon. Après l'année qu'on a eu, c'est certainement assez révélateur de voir les progrès scientifiques, la lutte pour la vaccination, la diffusion de connaissance brimées ou ralenties par des politiques obscurantistes qui ne servent que l'intérêt des gens aux pouvoirs et qui conduisent à la mort de milliers (et plus) de personnes. Bref, on peut définitivement le classer, ce tome encore plus que les autres, comme lecture de pandémie.
August 21, 2025
Vol. 5 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 6 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 7 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 8 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 9 ★★★☆☆
I get that this volume is to show progress isn't linear and that setbacks are inevitable, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. When it comes to antagonists from earlier on in the series, I can understand their points of view even if I don't necessarily agree with them, whereas with this current batch, I think they're all terrible, short-sighted people who are more obsessed with power than actually being good rulers.
Vol. 6 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 7 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 8 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 9 ★★★☆☆
I get that this volume is to show progress isn't linear and that setbacks are inevitable, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. When it comes to antagonists from earlier on in the series, I can understand their points of view even if I don't necessarily agree with them, whereas with this current batch, I think they're all terrible, short-sighted people who are more obsessed with power than actually being good rulers.
December 21, 2014
you want to know what i like about ooku?
(everything)
that fumi yoshinaga is incredibly smart about history. there's this misconception i see often -- that history is about progress, that we are always improving upon what we had before -- that fails to recognize the complexity of people, how their values change, and that people will often opt for short term reward over long term gain since the present generally seems more pressing then the future.
as of this volume i think she's going the 'so this is a secret history of japan that might have been, not an alt history' route and i think she's done a really good job of setting up a matriarchy that could and does still return to male primogeniture
i mean i'm here in the corner being like 'you fools! the patriarchy is resilient as heck, once you hand over the power it's going to be a never ending struggle to get any of it back' but i can't pretend this isn't a well done narrative choice
also so many feels about gennai and aonuma this volume. on top of doing fantastic sociology and politics ooku is chock full of a+ level babes. y'all do working for a better future really well, congrats on your noble demeanours. 4 stars
(everything)
that fumi yoshinaga is incredibly smart about history. there's this misconception i see often -- that history is about progress, that we are always improving upon what we had before -- that fails to recognize the complexity of people, how their values change, and that people will often opt for short term reward over long term gain since the present generally seems more pressing then the future.
as of this volume i think she's going the 'so this is a secret history of japan that might have been, not an alt history' route and i think she's done a really good job of setting up a matriarchy that could and does still return to male primogeniture
i mean i'm here in the corner being like 'you fools! the patriarchy is resilient as heck, once you hand over the power it's going to be a never ending struggle to get any of it back' but i can't pretend this isn't a well done narrative choice
also so many feels about gennai and aonuma this volume. on top of doing fantastic sociology and politics ooku is chock full of a+ level babes. y'all do working for a better future really well, congrats on your noble demeanours. 4 stars
March 11, 2024
Reseña de los tomos 6-10.
En este tomo se cierra un arco bastante grande y parece que va a haber un cambio de tornas en la historia principal.
Me gusta mucho la complejidad con la que avanza la historia y lo ambiciosa que es, sin duda un manga único.
En este tomo se cierra un arco bastante grande y parece que va a haber un cambio de tornas en la historia principal.
Me gusta mucho la complejidad con la que avanza la historia y lo ambiciosa que es, sin duda un manga único.
November 18, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
I'm reminded each time a mew Ooku manga is released at just how glad I am to see this professionally translated by Viz. This wonderfully layered, heartbreaking tale of a feudal Japan changed by the appearance of a pox targeting men truly is a marvel of storytelling. From political machinations to social commentary, author Yoshinaga doesn't pull punches. Life truly isn't fair - especially in feudal courts. Because so much of Ooku is reminiscent of the stories of British Kings/queens of the renaissance era (Henry, Elizabeth, Mary, etc.), there is a lot of appeal for those fascinated with history, Japanese or otherwise.Story: The Shogun is aging and her power weakening. When several natural disasters happen one after the other in the capital, desperate and hungry people look for a scapegoat. Tanuma, senior Councillor to the shogun, ends up as the easy target. Her efforts supporting the Hollander 'half breed' Aonuma have succeeded and an inoculation for the red plague succeeded. But her efforts to alleviate starvation through the draining of swamps did not come soon enough to feed the people devastated from flood, earthquakes, and the eruption of a nearby volcano. At the same time, Hiraga Gennai, the woman masquerading as a man, will be assaulted by a jealous lover's goons. Though he escapes with his life, an assailant suffering from a disease will pass it along to the unsuspecting Gennai and she will have to face her mortality.
As with all the Ooku volumes, there is quite a bit going on throughout. Politics of the court greatly change and just as Bloody Mary began a great purge of protestants upon the death of Henry the VIII's son, so too will we see a similar situation at the end of this volume.
Ooku is definitely a novel for adults - not so much for explicit content, of which there isn't much, but rather for the very detailed and intricate storytelling. So much is built upon so little - subtlety and machinations, greed and good, survival and plain dumb chance. The choice to use old English to give a feel for the world makes it a more difficult read but also a much more rewarding one.
It really is very obvious why this title has won so many awards. And also the huge difference a professional translator makes. Highly recommended.
Reviewed from an ARC.
November 2, 2018
A great volume. Much suspenseful drama, death, and treachery. Art, as always, expressive.
September 1, 2022
And just when I thought this series was running out of (relative of other volume) steam - ending up with a 4 star streak - this volume drop-kicked me off a emotional cliff.
The cover felt like the end of the series (though it is not) - well at least the end of Aonoma / Gennai / Shogun Ieharu arc. A lot of storylines are wrapped up excellently as well. As expected, because we have spent 3 volumes with these characters seeing resolution of their storyline () was very impactful.
This arc deal with the characters trying to cure the Red Face pox so it was very interesting to explore the interaction between politics and science. We have seen the impact of politics in terms of succession and marriage and dynasties but this focus was new. And also in some rest a lot more heartbreaking as their quest was so pure and wholesome. How it ended really struck a cord! I tear up thinking about it! As with the rest of the volumes, there are no easy answers here!
)
This was a fantastic volume. After a few hopeful previous volumes the author returned to show teeth in full force. I am not sure I want to see where we go from here but I am excited to find out.
Once of the best exploration of power and hope for a better future despite all odds. This series is well worth your time.
The cover felt like the end of the series (though it is not) - well at least the end of Aonoma / Gennai / Shogun Ieharu arc. A lot of storylines are wrapped up excellently as well. As expected, because we have spent 3 volumes with these characters seeing resolution of their storyline () was very impactful.
This arc deal with the characters trying to cure the Red Face pox so it was very interesting to explore the interaction between politics and science. We have seen the impact of politics in terms of succession and marriage and dynasties but this focus was new. And also in some rest a lot more heartbreaking as their quest was so pure and wholesome. How it ended really struck a cord! I tear up thinking about it! As with the rest of the volumes, there are no easy answers here!
)
This was a fantastic volume. After a few hopeful previous volumes the author returned to show teeth in full force. I am not sure I want to see where we go from here but I am excited to find out.
Once of the best exploration of power and hope for a better future despite all odds. This series is well worth your time.
December 6, 2019
The saga of alt-Japan continues! The medical battle against the Red Face Pox has begun for real, with the shogun investing in "Hollander medicine", which isn't too popular with everyone. Chinese medicine is the way forward according the majority of doctors. But the Inner Chambers has always been a world of its own, so research continues there. But for how long?
This volume started with a character overview which was so very helpful! The downside of borrowing these from the local library is that after a few generations of characters you lose track of who is who. And in this series you need updates on who is who because time flies in this series. You turn a page and five years might have passed. Not in a bad way, though, it's all very built up, but keeping track of characters is a challenge.
Still recommend this series! Even though it keeps making me so, sooo sad.
This volume started with a character overview which was so very helpful! The downside of borrowing these from the local library is that after a few generations of characters you lose track of who is who. And in this series you need updates on who is who because time flies in this series. You turn a page and five years might have passed. Not in a bad way, though, it's all very built up, but keeping track of characters is a challenge.
Still recommend this series! Even though it keeps making me so, sooo sad.
December 20, 2019
This was a heavy volume in so many ways! I can usually whip through a volume of manga on my bus commute, but this one took me 3 trips plus a little extra time over breakfast to finish.
The cure to the redface pox is on it's way in the form of a vaccine, but will it survive the change in regime following the death of both the shogun and her daughter, as well as senior counselor Tanuma and her daughter. I was really sad to see the end of Gennai and Aonuma too. Hopefully the research and work on ending the pox will continue through the students. The next shogun is to be a boy, who's been innoculated against the redface pox, so not only is the regime changing, but so might the face of power.
The cure to the redface pox is on it's way in the form of a vaccine, but will it survive the change in regime following the death of both the shogun and her daughter, as well as senior counselor Tanuma and her daughter. I was really sad to see the end of Gennai and Aonuma too. Hopefully the research and work on ending the pox will continue through the students. The next shogun is to be a boy, who's been innoculated against the redface pox, so not only is the regime changing, but so might the face of power.
September 22, 2019
And the answer is no, no one I like seems to have a happy ending at all. But thank goodness they actually added a timeline at the beginning of this manga, with pictures too! That really helped me along with the story. This manga really is cut throat with it's characters.
January 6, 2024
A cure for the Redface pox may have been found -and then a political shift occurs.
This volume was magnificent. Just like real life, good people who are working hard are punished or die and ignorant or small-minded people cause damage by trying to push their own position forward.
This volume was magnificent. Just like real life, good people who are working hard are punished or die and ignorant or small-minded people cause damage by trying to push their own position forward.
August 25, 2018
Made me cry.
November 21, 2018
Really good volume to the serious really enjoyed it could’ve put it down but I was very upset with the ending and I cannot wait to read the next volume
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2019
The political machinations get quite intense in this volume!!
October 13, 2020
One of the best volumes in an amazing series.
This one will break your heart.
This one will break your heart.
March 19, 2021
男將軍再度出現，不過幕末也近了
December 14, 2022
This is a particularly emotionally draining volume. It also brings the events of the books one step closer to converging with conventional Japanese history, so that's interesting.
January 9, 2023
青沼！！平賀源内！！
ここまで歴史上人物の最後に心が痛もうとは。
作者は歴史的出来事を、フィクションに取り込むのが凄くうまい。
（平賀源内て死ぬ直前に「錯乱状態で２人死傷」ってWikiで読んだが、そこは無かったけど...）
ここまで歴史上人物の最後に心が痛もうとは。
作者は歴史的出来事を、フィクションに取り込むのが凄くうまい。
（平賀源内て死ぬ直前に「錯乱状態で２人死傷」ってWikiで読んだが、そこは無かったけど...）
March 3, 2024
this volume made me cry 😭
June 16, 2024
Rebels and rebellions abound. Also, science.
August 24, 2024
Ameeeeeeee, toda la parte de las vacunas y Aonumaaaa, y las estrategias políticas.
Pero ejecutaron a mi personaje favorito 😭
Pero ejecutaron a mi personaje favorito 😭
Read
November 8, 2025Probably one of the best volumes of the series I’ve read so far.
December 31, 2015
Research into the redface pox continues and Aonuma and his students are making progress into creating a vaccine using a milder form of the virus, which they test on volunteers from the inner chamber. When news of its efficacy becomes known, noble families begin to ask about using the vaccine on their boy children as well. Meanwhile, the people are grumbling over the shogunate and her advisor – after a famine and a series of natural disasters that leave the country impoverished. There is little sympathy for Tanuma Okitsugu (the advisor) when her daughter is assassinated, and when the shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu dies soon afterward (from long-term arsenic poisoning delivered to her – most probably – in a daily “medicinal” draft meant to help with her Beriberi), Okitsugu is ousted from her position. Those in control do some additional housekeeping and remove most of the staff friendly to Ieharu and her regime. Aonuma is executed for his “crimes.” With no suitable Tokugawa candidates remaining, Toyochiyo (one of the noble sons inoculated against the redface pox) is chosen to assume the throne.
Some colorful and wonderful characters are lost in this volume – Hiraga Gennai (the woman who dresses like a man and sticks her nose into everyone’s business), and Aonuma (executed for doing what the shogun and her advisor told him to do), and all of the progress made under the Ieharu’s reign. It sounds like the dissidents want to go back to the dark ages as they purge all foreign influences (like the Holland medical studies), and focus on their own political power. It is frustrating how powerless the former administration is in the face of their attacks. Perhaps there is hope yet in the new shogun – will he have his own ideas or will he be a puppet of his administrators? And the young men who participated in the fledgling inoculation program – will they continue to promote the vaccine and vaccination process on their own? This series continues to be hard-hitting and intriguing.
Some colorful and wonderful characters are lost in this volume – Hiraga Gennai (the woman who dresses like a man and sticks her nose into everyone’s business), and Aonuma (executed for doing what the shogun and her advisor told him to do), and all of the progress made under the Ieharu’s reign. It sounds like the dissidents want to go back to the dark ages as they purge all foreign influences (like the Holland medical studies), and focus on their own political power. It is frustrating how powerless the former administration is in the face of their attacks. Perhaps there is hope yet in the new shogun – will he have his own ideas or will he be a puppet of his administrators? And the young men who participated in the fledgling inoculation program – will they continue to promote the vaccine and vaccination process on their own? This series continues to be hard-hitting and intriguing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2015
Gods, what an emotional ride. I feel so...I have no single word to describe the sense of injustice, sorrow, anger, my desire for retribution, my wishes for a happy ending...Yoshinaga-sensei remains a genius storyteller and expert artist able to tie familial love, romance, political machinations, historical reference, villainy, friendship, and even science into an utterly engaging, addicting story that continually leaves me physically affected by the end of each volume. I felt my breath quicken, my heart race, and yes, my eyes brim with tears by the time I reached the last page of this entry in the series. I cannot provide enough praise for this manga.
Aside from the story itself, I am also still impressed and thankful for the excellent translation and localization work that has gone into this and every volume of Ōoku. The old-style speech is so well done, feels very natural to read, and really sets a wonderful tone that helps place the story in its intended time period. The translation notes at the end are always welcome and help me learn new things about Japanese culture and history every time. This manga is the best!
Aside from the story itself, I am also still impressed and thankful for the excellent translation and localization work that has gone into this and every volume of Ōoku. The old-style speech is so well done, feels very natural to read, and really sets a wonderful tone that helps place the story in its intended time period. The translation notes at the end are always welcome and help me learn new things about Japanese culture and history every time. This manga is the best!
July 7, 2015
While this is still a great book, I find myself liking it a little less than the previous ones. The focus is so much in curing the redface pox that it's less intrigue and politics and alternative history, and more medicine.
Which is fine, and interesting, but I do miss a bit the strong, fascinating characters of before. In the last three books, we spent a lot of time focused on the "healers" and how they're curing the plague, and, well, finally, we're getting the pay for that....but it's still a tad "more of the same".
Don't get me wrong, this series IS brilliant, but I think it's just running a bit out of steam.
Which is fine, and interesting, but I do miss a bit the strong, fascinating characters of before. In the last three books, we spent a lot of time focused on the "healers" and how they're curing the plague, and, well, finally, we're getting the pay for that....but it's still a tad "more of the same".
Don't get me wrong, this series IS brilliant, but I think it's just running a bit out of steam.
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January 4, 2023I somehow didn’t notice that I had skipped a volume while I was reading this. Whoops! Anyway, the family tree at the front was a huge help, and I was glad to see more of Hiraga Gennai, who by this point is pretty obviously the sort of thing we’d now call a he/him lesbian (or bisexual woman). It was frustrating to see him in this one but not technically historically inaccurate (or unfair from an author POV, given that basically everybody in this manga gets tortured and killed). I admit I was glad to after reading this one for more Gennai…
March 28, 2015
A strong ending to an excellent series, Yoshinaga-san continues to tell a powerful story with fascinating historical references. (I am totally going to run off and learn about the historical Gennai now!) In this volume, I particularly appreciated the nuanced treatment of Aonuma-san and the way that political positioning can sometimes blind us to provable fact. But the story was well crafted, emotionally compelling, and alternate-history satisfying.
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